Horizon Line
by Soloshi Akuma
Summary: Bleach AU Fic. Ichigo came down to the harbor every night, ever since he was a child. And he would find a certain silver-haired man there every time. No shippings. Fluff warning, you may be prone to throwing up rainbows.
1. Chapter 1

Bleach AU Fic. Ichigo came down to the harbor every night, ever since he was a child. And he would find a certain silver-haired man there every time. No shippings.

 _Tags: Ichigo K., Gin I._

Note: If you read my bio, you would know that this was based off of a dream I had. I have the best dreams. Like, this one time, I had a dream that I was vivisecting a snake with Baba Yaga's head. :3

* * *

"Ichigo, do you know what an ocean is?"

The orange-haired child turned and looked at his mother in confusion. "Huh?"

Masaki smiled. "Why don't I show you?"

Abandoning the coloring book of _Bleach Shinigami_ , Ichigo followed Masaki to the bedroom window. It was wide open. Streetlights shone several feet below their apartment, and Ichigo noted in awe that the people walking around looked so small.

Masaki pointed to where several boats were docked. "Look. You see the water those boats are on?"

Ichigo nodded, giggling as the warm wind ruffled his hair.

"That's the ocean. It goes on for miles and miles."

"Wow," Ichigo breathed. He looked further, and found that he couldn't see where the ocean ended. "Does it ever end?"

"Well, you would find land, eventually. But it would take a very long time."

"Bajillion years," Ichigo stated matter-of-factly. "It would take bajillion years."

His mother laughed. "You may be right. Hey, do you want to go see it up close?"

Ichigo grinned. "Yeah!"

He skipped to the door giddily, clasping his mom's hand. "We go see ocean! We go see ocean!" he chanted, dancing circles around Masaki.

Isshin walked out of his office, rubbing fatigued eyes. "Eh? What's this I hear about the ocean?" He managed a small smile at the sight of his cheerful son, and Masaki beamed at him.

Ichigo pulled on his father's pant leg. "We go see ocean! You coming, Dad?"

"Of course, Ichigo."

The family walked out of the apartment building and into the harbor. Ichigo scampered to a pier. "Here, here! Ocean!"

Masaki nodded. "Yes, ocean."

"It so pretty." He reached out and put his hand in the water. "Ooh. Cold." He quickly retracted his hand and shook it around. "Cold! Cold!"

Isshin walked up to the side of the pier, gazing out at the ocean. "Hey, Ichigo. Do you see those boats over there? I'd like to ride one of those someday."

Ichigo gazed, wide-eyed, at his father.

"It seems like it would be nice to ride one of those beauties. Don't have to worry 'bout getting wet or anything. Just enjoying the view."

His mother sighed. "I want to go on one, too. Watch the sunset from there, surrounded by a peaceful ocean on all sides. It costs too much, though…"

Ichigo blinked. "Could we really go, one day?"

"I'm certain we will," Masaki assured him. "And you'll be with us."

Ichigo brightened. "Yeah! It will be fun! Maybe we see whale!"

"Sure, why not?" Isshin laughed. "Dolphins, whales, starfish. I'd be glad to see a barnacle."

There was a flash of white to Ichigo's right, and he looked in surprise to see another person sitting on a cliff overlooking the sea. He had silver hair, and his eyes were closed. He wore a white jacket and pants with black outlines. A gray cloak covered his clothing. He noticed Ichigo and smiled, waving. Ichigo waved back. _He must like the ocean, too._

A warm hand took his, and Ichigo looked up at his mother. "Alright, that's enough," she reprimanded him lightly. "It's getting late. We should head back to the apartment now."

Ichigo nodded, following his parents away from the doc. He spared one last glance backwards, however the man was gone.

* * *

Ichigo was too young to hate people. He hardly disliked anyone. But that one shinigami in his coloring book just bugged him. Ichigo wasn't even sure what about the Soul Reaper with glasses set him off, but he avoided the page as much as possible. Maybe it was anticipation for the next page, where the same Soul Reaper appeared _without_ glasses and a new hairstyle.

It was definitely the hair lock. That one hair lock, right in the middle of his face. Why wasn't it back with the rest of his hair? Why was there that one hair lock?! It frustrated Ichigo to no end.

Annoyed, he flipped around for a while before giving up hope of forgetting the hair lock and went to the window. The cool air blew inside, and Ichigo breathed in the fresh, crisp air. _I like the fall. The leaves are so pretty._

"Ichigo! It's time!"

The mop of orange hair perked up, and a wide grin spread across his face as he rushed out to the door, where Masaki and Isshin were waiting. Ever since the day they had gone out to the pier, it had become a everyday tradition. It was always Ichigo's favorite part of the day. The ocean calmed him down whenever he was feeling down about the shinigami with the hair lock or he got bullied by the kids at school.

Every day he would see the same silver-haired man. He never appeared for more than a few seconds. Masaki and Isshin seemed nervous around him, for some reason, which only confused Ichigo.

As he looked at the ledge again, he saw the man again. Ichigo blinked as an overwhelming sadness overcame him. _He must be really lonely, up there without anyone to talk to. Maybe I should go and see if he's alright?_

 _But Mom and Dad don't want me to see him._

 _Hm…should I trick them into leaving for a while?_

 _No, I could never lie to Mom and Dad! It wouldn't be fair. I'll just have to tell them and hope they trust me enough to let me go._

"Mom?"

Masaki looked down at her son. "Is something the matter, Ichigo?" she asked, noting in concern the look of seriousness in his gaze.

"What's so wrong about that silver-haired man? Why can't I talk to him?"

"...you shouldn't talk to strangers, Ichigo…"

"He's lonely, though!" Ichigo interrupted. Masaki's eyes widened as Ichigo continued talking. "I can feel it! I can feel his despair just by looking at him! I don't want anyone to be unhappy. And he's not dangerous. So please let me talk to him!"

Isshin walked over. "What's up?"

Masaki sighed. "Ichigo has some very good reasons for wanting to talk to complete strangers. "

"He's not a complete stranger! We see him here every single day!" Ichigo insisted.

Isshin pressed a hand onto his forehead, sighing. "To put it bluntly; he could be dangerous, Ichigo. We don't know his name, his relationships, his likes and dislikes. He's still a stranger to us. And your mom and I tend to assume the worst of strangers, especially when you're poor. People kidnap children and threaten a sum we can't pay."

"But…"

"No."

* * *

"Hello!"

The silver-haired man looked up in surprise at the tiny child hovering next to him. "Why, hello there."

Ichigo giggled nervously. "I'm not supposed to be here. Don't tell Mom and Dad."

The man felt a smile creeping up at the sight of the bright orange hair. "Oh. You should get back to them, right?" he asked, amusement threaded into his tone.

"They're inside, getting my coat. I don't want to make them angry. But you looked really lonely, and I wanted to talk to you!" Ichigo smiled with a childish innocence that the man had long since abandoned. "What's your name?"

The man blinked, shocked at the perceptiveness of this child. He could sense emotions from that far away? That was quite a skill. He let himself smile at the boy, genuinely, for what felt like the first time in years. "Gin. Gin Ichimaru."

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki! Nice to meet you!"

One could not help but "D'awww" at the adorable look on Ichigo's face.

 _Kids are so cute._

"Alright, I should go back before they see me. You're a nice guy, Gin!" The child ran back down the hill happily, leaving Gin to watch him leave.

"...d'awwwww."

Somehow, his heart felt a bit lighter.

* * *

A/N: Frick I'm not used to writing fluff. Also I wrote this a long time ago but I didn't feel like publishing it 'cuz I was stuck on Chapter 2 but then I wrote the entirety of Chapter 2 on the plane yesterday so why not publish it lol. This was short BUT IT GETS BETTER I SWEAR

I'm sorry if this is the first of my stories that you're reading I don't usually write this stuff


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A/N: I humbly apologize if all the fluff makes you throw up. Viewer discretion is advised.

* * *

"Ichimaru-san!"

Gin looked up, smiling. "Good morning, Ichigo-kun."

A dazzling smile greeted him in return, almost blinding him. Or was it the orange hair that made him want to cover his already-closed eyes? Maybe the combination of both.

"How was your day?" The child sat beside him, brown eyes glowing with anticipation.

"Well, it wasn't that interesting." Gin gazed thoughtfully at the clouds that hid the morning sun. Not that it mattered. Ichigo was his sun, now. "I suppose there was this one couple at the grocery store, though."

"What about them?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at Ichigo's eagerness. Gin could have told the most boring story in the world. Maybe even Shakespeare. But Ichigo still would have payed rapt attention, treating it like he had returned from war, and was describing the final battle between generals. No, his life wasn't glorious at all; far from it, actually.

"One of them looked really weird. He had a 69 tattoo on his face. Why his face, I have no idea." Ichigo giggled, and Gin guiltily thought of the time that he'd told the kid that 69 represented yin and yang, rather than the cruder meaning. It would save Ichigo his innocence now, but it would be all the harder on him in the future. "The other had blonde hair that covered his eye. He looked sad, for some reason."

Ichigo blinked in surprise. "They were both boys?"

Gin nodded. "It's not that weird, right? Gender doesn't matter when it comes to true love." He grinned cheekily, and Ichigo watched in awe, hopefully thinking that Gin was the wisest man in the world. "So they were arguing about some trivial things. It wasn't that dramatic," he added, seeing Ichigo's wide eyes. "Like what brand of milk was better. Things like that. But there was this small funny scene. In my eyes, anyway."

"But you don't have eyes," Ichigo pointed out innocently.

"Wh- I have eyes!" Gin indignantly opened his eyes, and Ichigo gasped at the sight. He knew he looked strange. His left eye was a deep crimson, while the other was a light teal. Heterochromia. It spooked all who saw, no matter how much they tried to hide it, and eventually Gin didn't want to deal with their shocked gazes and awkward looking away. So he learned to keep his eyes closed. He could still see just fine, but no one could see the pupils of his eyes. He wasn't quite sure how he could see. Maybe anime logic. He learned from the best, after all.

"They're pretty."

Gin froze, blinking in surprise at the nine year old. If he expected to hear anything from Ichigo, it would have been "They look cool! I wish I had them!" or "Ooh, scary. You could probably chase a robber away just by looking at them!". Innocent, a bit insensitive, and awestruck. Not "they're pretty".

Yet those were the words that had come out of the child's mouth. Words he'd never heard regarding his monstrous eyes. He continued to stare at Ichigo, who was still talking, like he hadn't said anything groundbreaking.

"It kind of matches you. Your blue eye is clear and bright. People immediately see you as one thing, and don't care about anything else. You're homeless." Gin winced. _Ouch. Do I really look homeless?_ "You're a creep. You're weird, and sadistic, and dangerous. It's in the right, so it must be true!" He threw his hands up in the air for emphasis. "But it's not. Because on the left, it's red. You're troubled, just like them. You have a soul, just like them, but no one looks there, because they've already seen what they think is you."

 _The insight he has is incredible,_ Gin marveled. Although simplistic language was used, his words were enough to land him on the Board of Philosophical Speakers. He didn't even understand everything that the child has said.

"But when you combine them, they look pretty. It's true, you are a bit of a creep." _Wait what._ "And you're weird, and sadistic, and dangerous." _Who told this kid I was sadistic? I mean, I'm not denying it, but…_ "But that's just part of who you are! It's part of what makes you, you! And when people see your true personality, it just makes those traits that they saw before shine even brighter!"

 _I'm going to freaking adopt this kid. Just try and stop me, Mrs. and Mr. Kurosaki. Just try. I dare you._

Gin laughed, patting Ichigo's head. "You really are amazing, kiddo."

The orange-haired boy's bottom lip stuck out in a cute pout. "I'm not a kiddo anymore! I'm nine, therefore I'm an adult just like you are, Ichimaru-san! Hey, how old are you, anyway?"

"Not sure." Ichigo opened his mouth in protest, but Gin ignored him. "Anyway, back to my story. I happened to be nearby when the two men passed by the coffee aisle. And the tattooed man had to be held back by the blonde man, because he'd had too much coffee already." Gin chuckled slightly at the memory. "After a full minute of trying to stuff Tattoo Boy into the shopping cart, Blondie eventually kissed Tattoo Boy. That shut him up

Ichigo blinked. "Will I ever get someone to kiss me when I'm addicted to coffee?"

"No!"

The kid looked at him, hurt. "Why not?"

"You won't get addicted to coffee in the first place," Gin sighed. "It's really not a good idea. But I'm sure someone will kiss you, if that's what you're looking for." He paused, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face. "Maybe today."

"By who?"

"Me." Gin deftly planted a kiss on the child's forehead, before pulling away quickly, grinning. "Not who you were imagining, ay?"

Ichigo gave him a deadpan look. "...creep."

"Gah! No, I'm not a pedo, get your head out of the gutter!"

A cough sounded behind them, and both turned around to see Isshin and Masaki staring down at them. Particularly at Gin, who gulped. How long had they been there…?

Ichigo still never directly told his parents about Gin, instead choosing to say that he was meeting up at friend's house- Ichigo's age, of course- in the mornings and afternoons. Vagueness was key, after all. Unfortunately, those excuses didn't work when his parents were seeing the actual friend.

Gin had closed his eyes the second he heard the cough, so that wasn't a big deal. No, he was worried about the fact that out of context, he really did seem like a creep. _Oh, is that why all the children run away from me?_

"Is this your 'friend' you were talking about, Ichigo?" Isshin started, frowning intensely. Gin had never seen a frown so intense. It scared him a bit.

Ichigo nodded. "Yes."

"You've been meeting with him for over a month," he clarified.

"Yes."

"You said he was your age."

"I mean, I'm not sure what his age is. He says he doesn't remember."

If possible, the frown got intenser. _Oh boy. Why must I always be portrayed as a pedophile?_

"Hey, hey," Gin interjected nervously. "Let's all start over with greetings!" He stuck out his hand for them to shake. "I'm Ichimaru Gin."

Masaki took his hand first, smiling kindly. "Kurosaki Masaki."

Isshin, on the other hand, stared intensely at his hand for what felt like a solid minute. Gin began to sweat slightly as he wracked his brain for a synonym for "intense", which described the man in a nutshell. Finally, Isshin shook his hand, a cold glare still on his face. "So you're an alleged friend of Ichigo."

"I suppose so. After all, what would you call someone you've been talking to ever day for a month? An acquaintance? A personal storyteller?"

"What have you been telling him stories of?"

 _Not very good things. Uh oh. Think of something kid-friendly that you told him._

 _Shoot._

He didn't have to, since Ichigo responded first. "He told me about the time when he went on a boat!"

 _Did I? Oh, yes, I did. That was child-friendly enough. Thank Aizen for this kid's memory._

Isshin's eyes widened slightly, and Gin recalled that the Kurosaki family had an odd fascination with the ocean. Ichigo has said that he really wanted to go on a boat, and he was absolutely enraptured in Gin's description of the water. The same seemed to go for Isshin and Masaki, as well. _Could this be the key into defeating the final boss? Even mentioning the boat gets these guys weak in the knees. I seriously need to adopt this child for saving my life multiple times now._

"What was it like?"

Gin gazed curiously at the father, who was looking to the side in embarrassment. "You're interested, too? What is with your family's obsession with water?" He sighed, patting the ground next to him. "Storytime, I guess."

The three were absolutely silent- almost to a scary extent- as he recalled out loud the time that he'd gone sailing. They wanted to know everything. The sting of the ocean breeze, the taste of salt, the reflection of the sunset on the water. The more he thought about it, the more beautiful it seemed to be.

It had been about 9:00 AM when Ichigo had gone outside. Now it was 10:00 AM, and the sun had vanquished the clouds that blocked its light, now triumphantly spreading its glow across the land. Gin smiled, almost tempted to open his eyes, before remembering he had guests. "That wraps up today's storytime!" he announced cheerfully, clapping his hands together three times, which seemed to snap the Kurosaki family out of their trance. "Whatcha think?"

Isshin was the first to stand up, shaking his head in wonder. "You…are an incredible storyteller," he murmured. "It was like I was really there."

"Aw, I'm flattered." He'd gotten that a lot from Ichigo. Nothing special had happened today, so he was a bit off-topic with his story about Tattoo Boy and Blondie, but normally he was engrossed with his own story. It was fun telling stories to others, and even more fun to see their reactions. _Maybe I should write a book._ "So. Am I granted permission to continue talking with Ichigo-kun?"

The other man sighed, placing a hand over his forehead. "I really shouldn't give you, it considering that all you did was tell us a story..."

"But at the sane time, Ichigo has unbelievable insight," Masaki reasoned. "And if he trusts this man, and has talked with him consistently for over 30 days, then he's probably safe."

"But he's just a kid! How can he know that much?"

Gin chuckled inwardly. He asked himself the same question, with no answer. "It's just part of who Ichigo-kun is," he admitted.

The two parents exchanged glances for a brief moment, before Isshin held out his hand to Gin, who was still on the ground. "Alright, you've convinced us."

The silver-haired man gladly accepted, as Ichigo cheered in the background.

* * *

A/N: Yes, this chapter and the last one were short. Under 2000 words, actually. I just have a bunch of ideas that I need to get off my chest before they disappear, and I'm trying to regain my writing sense after working on my actual book for a solid 3 weeks writing nothing but that book. Ughhh.

I don't see any way to naturally make the chapters longer at the moment without drawing things out too much. It'll become a natural slice of life in the future, I hope.

Have you barfed rainbows yet? I might've.


End file.
